Bangalore, 10th August 2021: As part of the Round Table India ( RTI) & Ladies Circle India (LCI) ongoing initiatives during this pandemic, Bangalore Round Table 07 ( BRT7), Bangalore Ladies Circle 19 ( BLC19) and Varthana, an education-focused NBFC which works with affordable private schools, have come together to support the education of over a thousand students in Bangalore. School closures amidst the pandemic have led to widespread loss of learning for students. To bridge this learning gap Varthana has devised a unique ‘Unlock School’ program that comprises concepts from both previous and current grades.
The Unlock School Program is an initiative to help children have access to education through the pandemic by providing printed workbooks featuring “Bridge” content for English and Mathematics that aims to bring students gradually back to their current grade level from pre-pandemic levels. The books were disseminated across 4 schools in the city – Sree Vijaya Public School, GM Public School, St Anns, and VIPS Shikshana Samsthe. The total cost of this project is 1.1 Lakhs. Roundtable India will look to sponsor even more schools depending on the success of the program in these schools.
The program is designed in such a way that it does not require internet connectivity. It can be run by schools during school closures as well as to supplement curriculum once classes resume.
Ms. Tanaya Kilara – Head, Education Solutions at Varthana said, “The pandemic has presented schools with unprecedented challenges, we are only beginning to realize its impact on student learning. We started the Unlock program to ensure that learning doesn’t stop. We understand that a lot of households have only one smartphone and struggle with internet connectivity and we wanted to make sure that this program allows children to learn independent of internet infrastructure”
“The education sector has been hit the worst by the pandemic. We have never witnessed such a prolonged disruption to education. We wanted to do our bit to help schools and students get back on their feet. With Varthana’s Unlock Program we found a solution that fits the context well and allows schools to proactively address the learning loss”, said Mr. Parashuram, Chairman of Bangalore Roundtable 7 and Tulsi Parashuram. Chairperson of Bangalore Ladies Circle 19.
Area6 Chairman of RTI Tr.Sandesh and Area6 Chairperson of LCI Cr.Nidhi addressed the gathering and walked through the key objectives of RTI and LCI with focus on community service and building infrastructure for education of underprivileged children. They extended their support towards the Unlock School program and encouraged all the parents and students to take full advantage of the learning benefits coming out of this program.
“Thousands of children are currently out of school because of COVID-19. But learning cannot stop. We are thankful to RTI, LCI & Varthana for providing these books to our students. These will definitely help them overcome the learning loss till the time the normal classes start”, said Headmaster of one of the beneficiary schools.
